Restorative Yoga For Physical Comfort – Lesson 5

Hello hello hello welcome this is Zen X yoga my name is Vivian Wolf and we are moving through our 48 transformative lessons for midlife using Ayurveda and yoga and today we are going to be exploring some deep relaxation it's earlier lessons we talked a little bit about ways to release tension aches and pains in the body sometimes we do that through movement and sometimes we do that through stillness and release so that's what we're going to explore today just two postures but I am going to use props for today so feel free to use whatever props you already have handy the two poses we're going to explore our supported child's pose I'm going to use a bolster for this but you can use a stack of pillows you can roll up a blanket you can use couch cushions whatever whatever is handy for you the second posture is going to be legs up the wall and because I have my walls are covered in things that are not it's not safe to put my legs up against the wall I'm going to use my stool and just let my legs drape over my stool so if you are in the same kind of situation where you just don't have the space on the wall to put your legs up or you don't feel safe doing that then you can just put your legs up over your couch or the you know the the seat of your couch or a chair or the side of your bed whatever is comfortable for you anything that will let you elevate your legs and what the purpose behind these two postures are is that it helps not only to calm the mind but when we calm the mind it also calms the body we want to we want to calm the nervous system so that mind and body together can start to release and let go moving into that rest and digest it also helps us replenish recharge recuperate and recover and improve circulation as well and it provides a reset for your day sometimes if you have one of those types of days where you're just go go go go go all the time this type of practice might help you start to kind of let go of that need to do so much and allow you to drop into the present moment and just experience the being that is our human experience so enough talk let's get this going so let's get on the mat so for a supported child's pose I'm using just this bolster and a blanket so again just prop up as much as you want to you can leave your socks on for this if you like but you're take your knees wide oh I'm gonna put a blanket underneath my knees too you can even put a blanket over you if you want I'm gonna put a blanket underneath the knees and then take the knees wide maybe your big toes come together and then whatever you're using for support bring it between your knees as close to your body as you can take it and then just drape your torso over your support so if you come here and you find that it's too low then prop it up put more pillows underneath it or put books underneath it whatever you need here put one ear down and I'm gonna tell you when we're about halfway through can always if you're watching the replay of this live stream you can always pause right here so that you can take as long as you want in this child's pose we're only gonna stay for a minute or two but you can stay for ten minutes or even longer if you like just let your breath start to slow down start to let go of the effort of the body notice if you're gripping or holding release your jaw let your eyes soften or close if they aren't already let's take three more breaths with our nose pointed in this direction when you feel ready turn your head the other way make adjustments if you need to moving hair aside or earrings or whatever and then settle the head down the upper body down again and find a little stillness let the breath become a little longer a little deeper take three more breaths here and then slowly slowly use your hands to lift the upper body moving props aside or just standing up or slowly moving to the space where you can lay up put your legs up don't have to do a lot and then just like it sounds you're gonna put your legs up if you do it up against the wall hips as close to the wall as you can get them but make sure your knees are soft you shouldn't have a hyper extended knees whatever you choose to do here and again support your head and your neck however that feels good you can cover up with a blanket if that feels nice hands on the body or hands out wide again close your eyes just let the body release if you need something to do if you can't let go of all of the doing and simply count your breath maybe you count backwards choose a number I like to use the number 27 but really you can choose whatever number you like and just count backwards inhale and exhale is the same number when your mind wanders off just come back to the counting encouraging the body to let go you can stay here as long as you like anywhere between 3 and 20 minutes when you feel ready to come back start by deepening your breath inhale through the nose exhale through the mouth maybe you wiggle your fingers your toes might feel nice to do a little stretch arms overhead if you have the space and then to come out of this just very very slowly find your way over into a fetal position on one side of the other and then use your hands to help lift you up and find your way into whatever seated position is comfortable for you you can cross your legs or sit up in it sit up on your couch or your chair whatever feels good but take a moment here with your eyes soft or closed just to notice cultivate that inner awareness what sensations are present in your body now observe your breath and notice how you feel beautiful go ahead and open the eyes or just lift your gaze bring your palms together over your heart here let's take a deep breath in together exhale let it go ah beautiful thank you so much for sharing this practice with me today from my heart to yours peace